Bidding to open for 11 North-South route projects

Bidding must open soon for investors to carry out the 11 projects needed to complete the North-South Expressway, Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung has said.

Last November, the National Assembly passed an investment plan for the construction of the eastern North-South Expressway. (Photo tuoitre.vn)

The Deputy PM was speaking at a meeting recently to review measures to speed-up preparation work for building the eastern North-South Expressway.

The Ministry of Transport delivered a report on implementing the National Assembly’s resolution No 52 and asked the Government to accept some proposals during the preparation period for building road sections.

The ministry said it was necessary to remove difficulties so that investment capital could be tightly and effectively managed. This would also overcome shortcomings during implementing projects under the build-operation-transfer (BOT) format.

The Deputy PM also confirmed that appointing investors was not acceptable without wide and transparent bidding to select those capable of carrying out projects effectively and timely.

Last November, the National Assembly passed an investment plan for the construction of the eastern North-South Expressway.

With the approval of 83.1% of deputies, some eastern sections of the North-South Expressway covering a total of 654km will be built during the 2017-2020 period.

The 2021-2025 period will see the completion of the Bai Vot (Ha Tinh province) - Cam Lo (Quang Tri province) and Quang Ngai province -Nha Trang sections and the widening of the La Son (Thua Thien-Hue) – Tuy Loan (Da Nang) section to a four–lane road. The section from Can Tho to Ca Mau city will be put into operation after 2025.

It is calculated that the project will require 3,736ha of land, including 1,037ha of land used for rice cultivation.

The land clearance will be implemented in the form of a six-lane road in all parts of the project, except for the Cam Lo-La Son section, which will have four lanes.

It is estimated that the total investment for the project in 2017-2020 will be VND118.7 trillion (US$5.27 billion), including VND55 trillion (US$2.4 billion) from the Government and the remainder from investors.